This invention relates generally to teat dips for dairy animals and more particularly to methods and apparatus for applying teat dip to dairy animal teats and udders after milking and before detachment from a milker unit.
After milking, a dairy animal's teats can be protected with a post-milking dip (“post-dip”) that protects the teats from infection. The post-dip is typically applied by an operator by dipping a liquid, spraying a liquid or applying a foam. This process is performed each time the animals are milked, and is generally useful in reducing the incidence of mastitis.
One approach to simplifying this procedure is to apply the post-dip before the milker unit is detached as disclosed in WO 02/23976 A1, which is incorporated herein by reference. Nonetheless, with such a system there may only be limited coverage of the teat. Therefore, there is a need for apparatus and methods for applying post-dip to a dairy animal's teats and udder in an efficient manner.